Mercury, Gemini and Virgo -- this planet and the signs it rules -- ...

Mercury's sign ...

The sign where Mercury is found tells the characteristics a person uses to process information, form thoughts, filter opinions, and express the results back out in his speech, writing, and intellectual interests.

It tells the kind of energy that colors the way he uses his mind and its products. It describes the psychological factors that influence his ability to make decisions and think rationally, as well as the sort of ideas and information he will consider important.

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It's like this ...

Thus a person with Mercury in Leo is dramatic, creative, playful, and even a little pompous in expressing his opinions or sharing knowledge with others. He will clearly have a lot of ego invested in what he thinks and the way he shows off those ideas.

He tends to "own" his opinions and knowledge like a concrete personal possession ... and criticizing one of his thoughts, or the way he expressed it, is tantamount to a personal attack. He wants others to respect his mind and defer to his "superior" intellectual leadership.

A person with Mercury in Pisces, on the other hand, may be very reluctant to share his thoughts publicly and will open up his intimate opinions and ideas only to people he absolutely trusts.

This person's mind deals with energy and information that is extraordinarily creative and inspirational ...often with a distinctly mystical cast to its expressions. It is virtually impossible for him to separate thoughts from feelings.

He has an extraordinary capacity to empathize ... and is intuitive to the point of being genuinely psychic.

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And Mercury's house ...

The house in your Natal Chart containing Mercury shows the most fertile ground for your intellectual development, the area where your interests -- and therefore your greatest mental expertise is found, where communication skills may be essential in the conduct of your life's business, and where you need to apply a lot of thought and use a variety of learning techniques and information.

Thus someone with Mercury in the 2nd House will be focused on practical affairs and financial matters. This person will devote a lot of thought and effort to matters of income and possessions.

He will handle ideas prudently and be fairly resolute and stubborn in the thoughts he constructs and puts forth. This is an intellectual energy that likes to plan ahead ... and then follow those plans come what may.

Someone with Mercury in the 4th House, on the other hand, is focused on family matters, his private life and home circumstances, psychological security issues, and the relationships and conditions in his personal world.

He will devote a lot of thought and effort to conversation and knowledge about family issues -- and will definitely be the one to go to for the latest family gossip. He will also be unusually sympathetic and protective about his family and home life, and he will need to know everything is all right there in order to be okay himself.

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Mercury rules Gemini.

The house in your Natal Chart with Gemini on the cusp shows the area of life

Where you think and study and take in information -- where you are intellectually invested.
Where you need a variety of experiences.
Where you "know a lot about" your subjects and concerns.
Where you exchange ideas, opinions, beliefs, thoughts, theories and other information with others.
Where you experience duality -- reflecting where you are often "of two minds".
Where you "communicate" through reading, writing, speaking, lecturing, listening and conversation.
Where you express your intellectual interests and spend your most versatile mental energy.
Where you may "establish back-up systems" for yourself.
Where you may behave in very contradictory ways.
Where you are curious -- and where you may display your greatest wit and sense of humor.

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And Mercury rules Virgo.

The house in your Natal Chart with Virgo on the cusp shows the area of life:

Where you apply your knowledge in practical, analytical, discriminating ways.
Where you work to perfect ideas to use productively.
Where you are most rational, critical and logical.
Where you are fussy and a "perfectionist" -- and where you are most self-critical.
Where you are most "hair-splitting" and "precise" in your applications of mental energy.
Where you are influenced by health concerns -- and most often affected by physical and mental stress
Where you "work" for the benefit of others.
Where you seek to help others discover and formulate ways to improve their lives.
Where you place a great premium on "tending to all the details."
Where you are invested in chores, favors, routines, schedules, errands, "housekeeping," and other forms of "taking care of business".
Where you act with extreme care in order to avoid mistakes.

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Here's how it works ...

Mercury does work and takes action in the house it occupies in order to support the interests of the houses with Gemini and Virgo on the cusp. Mercury is said to "rule" those houses. Mercury, therefore, "works" where it is located in your Natal Chart to take care of what is essentially important to it and its interests ... which are the concerns of the Gemini and Virgo houses in your Natal Chart.

It's like a person working in another state sending money back to his family so they can take care of his home base and the life they share together. That's what's important to him -- and it's why he's working in the first place.

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Here's and example

Thus a person with Mercury in 3rd House (one's mind, communication skills, and ability to deal with information) and Gemini on the 7th House (intimate relationships and marriage) puts tremendous thought, mental brilliance and diversity, knowledge, and personal education together to attract a partner who must be intellectually compatible as the first order of business in the relationship).

Then he puts that energy to work to both support the relationship and to support the partner. The way this person thinks and uses knowledge and the way he communicates is a fundamental resource his marriage partner can use and rely on.

This arrangement would describe someone who is an essential consultant, confidante, and advisor to his spouse, both in support of the partner's interests and efforts and in support of the relationship itself.

He might use his own diverse and varied interests and skills in information-handling to support the partner's involvement in mutual projects, hobbies, or decisions. He might be cast as the "automatic spokesman" for the pair.

He might also contribute financially and otherwise to the resources of the marriage through writing, speaking, or other mental pursuits.

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And another example

A person with Mercury in 3rd House (one's mind, communication skills, and ability to deal with information) and Virgo on the 9th House (philosophy, ethics, and advanced education) puts tremendous thought, mental brilliance and diversity, knowledge, and information together to devise a personal philosophy ... a set of "rules for living" that he can live by and demonstrate as an example for others.

This arrangement would describe someone who is a natural teacher, a philosopher, a teacher, writer, lecturer, commentator, and "perpetual student."

It is also someone whose knowledge and ability to manipulate information is fundamental to his sense of ethics and social conscience ... and who likely has well-considered views and convictions on the social, political, and religious climate in which he lives.

Thank you for stopping by!

If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.

Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.

If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.

One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.

Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.

Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.

This is who I am.

About the art in our visual essays ...

Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.

The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.

Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.

So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.

The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.

Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.